SIMPLE Group
| Private (Limited liability) | |
| Founded | Gibraltar (Incorporation: 1999) |
| Headquarters | Gibraltar, Gibraltar |
Key people |
Fabien Bénédicte Suant, Chairman Stephen Kurphy, CEO |
| Products |
Tax Planning Offshore Business |
| Revenue |
EUR€ 4.5 million  (2006) |
Number of employees | Undisclosed |
| Website | www.simplegroup.com |
SIMPLE Group Limited is a conglomeration of separately run companies that each has its core area in Tax Planning. The core business areas are Legal Services, Fiduciary Activities, Offshore Banking, offshore outsourcing, Corporate Service and Offshore Business Services.
The date of incorporation is listed as 1999 by Companies House of Gibraltar,[1] who class it as a holding company; however it is understood that SIMPLE Group's business and trading activities date to the second part of the 90s, probably as an incorporated body.
SIMPLE Group Limited is a conglomerate that cultivate secrecy, they are not listed on any Stock Exchange and the group is owned by a complicated series of offshore trusts and companies in order to protect the owners. The Sunday Times stated that SIMPLE Group's interests could be evaluated at £77 million; the shareholders are understood to be a group of Swiss Private Banks' owners.
Each of the companies operating under the SIMPLE Group umbrella are independent, with most being majority owned by SIMPLE Group, while previous owners still holds minority stakes. Occasionally, They simply licenses the SIMPLE brand to a company that has purchased a division or service from them.
With a few exceptions, none of the companies began as wholly owned SIMPLE Group's subsidiaries but instead where acquired from different previous owners.
SIMPLE Brands (under various ownership)
- Chaplin, Bénédicte & co. — This is SIMPLE Group's Flagship Brand. Owned Chaplin, Bénédicte & co. is a Legal Services Firm specialised in Tax Planning and Offshore Law. The firm is based in the City of London, United Kingdom with satellite representation in Riga, Latvia and Victoria, Seychelles.
- FBS Banking PLC — Offshore Banking Operations. FBS Banking was acquired by SIMPLE Group in 2001 for an undisclosed amount after a fierce battle with the Royal Bank of Scotland Group. FBS Banking is registered in Seychelles and operate from Latvia and England. They are in fact Agents of offshore or investments banks, mostly in Switzerland, Monaco and the Channel Island.
- Link The World Limited — Professional Due Diligence consultants for the Fiduciary industry. Link The World was one of the first company acquired by SIMPLE Group but is the least profitable of them as no recorded profits were ever reported on their Financial Statements. It is widely believed that SIMPLE Group actually owned other Fiduciary firms but more precise information seams impossible to obtain.
- SIMPLE Business Services — Outsourcing business fully owned by SIMPLE Group, SIMPLE Business Services cater for subcontracting services from the Baltic States in East Europe.
- Fresh Offshore — Low cost offshore companies incorporation and management. The Brand were bought from Swiss giant UBS in 2007 but SIMPLE Group never started trading under this name.
Footnotes
- ↑ "SIMPLE Group: Search Company Number = 80416". Government of Gibraltar. Retrieved 2008-01-01.